Why I'm Switching from an Airstream to a Transit Camper Van | RV Living as a Solo Female Traveler

hey guys my name is Sarah I have lived full time in my Airstream not anymore for the last year and I'm now switching to a Ford Transit van as my new full-time home a lot of you guys are wondering why I'm making this switch but don't worry I'm here to explain let's get into it [Music] in case you can't tell I am currently in a house I'm renting a room in California while I work a contract here waiting for my van build to be complete and I'm not gonna lie it's super weird it feels like I'm in a mansion and everything is so far away I keep misplacing things I'm like where's my water Where's my phone I can't keep track of anything in here I actually really miss living in a small space and being able to multitask by doing things like my hair and making my coffee simultaneously but I can't do that here my friend made the funniest analogy he said it's like I'm an astronaut that just got back from a year-long mission so true like I feel so out of place but I am starting to get used to it and I'm not gonna lie the long hot showers are pretty nice I'll try not to get too spoiled by all of the amenities while I'm here my van is currently being professionally built out by Drifter vans in Detroit Michigan the build started this month and I am super impressed with how much progress they've already made make sure you guys subscribe if you want to stay updated with my van build and of course there will be plenty of videos of me living in it as well alright let's get into all of the reasons why I'm switching from an Airstream to a camper van I heavily weighed the pros and cons of switching to a van and ultimately I think the sacrifices are well worth it and the van is going to be a much better fit for me and Rue than the Airstream I'm gonna give you all of the dirty details on all of the pros and cons this is probably going to be a lengthy video but you guys asked for it so here it is the number one reason I am switching to a van is to simplify my travels this means no more hitching up and towing which may not sound like a big deal and it's not I'm totally capable of doing it I just don't feel like doing it anymore I'm hoping it will save me a lot of time not only when it comes to breaking down camp and hitting the road but I'll also be able to drive a little bit faster as well plus I'll have way less anxiety on the road because I won't be towing a trailer another big reason I'm switching is because the compact size of the van versus the size of the trailer will open up so many more opportunities for me I can't tell you how many times I wanted to stop at a cool restaurant or pull off and check out an amazing view but I couldn't because I was towing a trailer and it really limited me on what I could do not many places can accommodate parking for a tow vehicle plus a trailer even simpler things like grabbing some fast food or finding an RV accessible gas station required way more planning than I ever bargained for the size of the van should allow me to make so many more pit stops than I ever could before with way less planning another big reason I'm switching to a van is for safety in my opinion I think the van will be a lot safer when it comes to escaping sketchy situations there was one time I was boondocking in the Airstream and I felt pretty unsafe but there wasn't much that I could do about it my neighbors had approached me at Sunset and gave me some really weird vibes and then proceeded to scream and fight all night long pretty sure there were drugs involved and I really just wanted to get out of there but I would have had to go outside break down Camp hitch up in the dark with them watching me if I were in a van I could have easily hopped in the driver's seat and removed myself from that situation but in the Airstream that wasn't an option and honestly that is not a fun situation to be in as a Solo Traveler another safety aspect that makes a van a much better fit for me as a Solo Traveler is navigation there was one time I was telling the Airstream and I made a wrong turn down a residential Road it was super Steep and there was nowhere for me to safely stop and reroute the GPS so I just had to keep driving until I found an exit onto a different Road a few miles down whereas if I were in the van I could have easily pulled into someone's driveway turned around or rerouted myself number four is boondocking and street parking I think the van is going to open up so many boondocking and overnight parking possibilities that the Airstream could not some boondocking spots are a lot more difficult to get to with a trailer and a lot of these Forest roads don't have a safe place to turn around if you're towing a trailer street parking will also be a possibility with the van where I would never even attempt that with the Airstream I feel like I would just stick out like a sore thumb on the side of the road in my silver Twinkie and I would not feel comfortable Plus it's super long with the tow vehicle too so the van is going to be a game changer as far as boondocking and overnight parking spots in the Airstream I heavily relied on harvest hosts which is a really great resource and I will probably continue to use it with the van but hopefully not as much if you don't know what Harvest host is it's local farms breweries Wineries and businesses that let you stay on their property in exchange for supporting their business by making a small purchase it's a really cool membership program and I did create a video on it so make sure you check that out as well in the Airstream I also relied heavily upon RV park and campsite reservations the van should be a game changer for this as well because most of those places are booked out during peak season I also shouldn't need hookups as often which is really nice due to the electrical and plumbing system that will be in my van I'll be going over all of the details of what appliances will be in my van in a future video as well as talking about the custom floor plan and design so make sure you stay tuned for those videos as well being a bit more off-grid will allow me to plan less and be more spontaneous with my travels since I'll have less limitations another Pro to having a van versus a tow vehicle and a travel trailer is debt consolidation instead of two payments it's all in one is it any less of a payment no no on the contrary the cost of the van plus the build is actually more expensive than my Airstream and my tow vehicle combined this is where you guys ask me how much it costs I will drop a link to Drifter Vans website in the description below make sure you go check that out if you are interested on the pricing of their builds and then of course the price of the van is going to depend on what kind you get and if it's new or used and all of the things but the perk of Drifter Vans versus other conversion companies is they will convert any type of Van that's pretty good compared to the companies that will only touch sprinters or only touch transits so you have options it opens up more possibility another Pro in my opinion which could also be considered a con and we will get into that is having all of my belongings with me all of the time wherever I go there is nothing I love more about RV life than always having my kitchen and my bathroom with me and all of my things this was a huge perk of traveling around in the Airstream until I decided to start taking a bunch of spontaneous weekend trips while I was on assignment in Washington mind you this is in the summer time when all of the campsites are booked out because it's peak season right normally my plans are spontaneous and too last minute to go finding a campsite for a 22-foot Airstream breaking down Camp hitching up setting up camp breaking down Camp hitching up again it was just a lot for just a weekend trip it wasn't worth it to me so I ended up frequently car camping I was constantly packing and unpacking I was becoming so unorganized and losing track of all of my belongings meanwhile I had a home on wheels that I left behind and I feel like it defeated the purpose of having an RV I just didn't have it in me to be bringing the Airstream with me wherever I went just for weekend trips it was too much work so it stayed on the property that I was staying on while I was on assignment and I just went back to my roots and slept in my Jeep I'm hopeful that I'll be able to pull off these spontaneous trips much easier with the van although I love the idea of always having all of my belongings with me this is also a huge con if my vehicle gets broken into my home gets broken into and that would be tragic I've seen videos it happens I plan on going a little overboard with security measures I will also have my wearsafe GPS tracker on it so if it were to get stolen completely I would be able to track it with my phone obviously this is a really scary aspect to Van life it is something I'm nervous about so if you guys have any recommendations of extra precautions I can take please drop a comment and let me know any suggestions you might have another downside to driving my home everywhere with me is I will always have to be stowing and securing all of my belongings before I drive somewhere regular errands may become more challenging due to limited parking spots or not being able to get into parking garages because of the height if I stick to the suburbs or more rural areas I don't think this will be as much of a problem I'm not much of a big city person anyways so not missing out on anything number seven traveling with a dog I'm excited about this one another thing I'll have with me at all times is my dog Roo this has been a big concern amongst my viewers and that is super sweet of you guys I really appreciate your concern um this is a huge thing that I considered when switching to a van I was very nervous about it myself but the more I looked into it and I actually met some people who live in Vans with their dogs I realize that it's totally possible totally doable and we're gonna do it so let's talk about how I'm gonna make it work similar to the Airstream Roo will always be in our home wherever we go which is super comforting to her compared to bouncing around from different hotels and apart like we did when I first started traveling for work moving into the Airstream was such a nice change for Rue it reduced so much of her anxiety and it didn't matter where we parked we still had our safe Cozy home to rest our head at night I would check on her sometimes while I was at work on the little camera that I had in there and she was always just chilling hopefully after we move into the van and get acquainted Rue will feel the same way about our new rig as well the biggest concern about living in a van with a dog is the temperature and regulating it and making sure she doesn't overheat or get too cold now that I have more flexibility with places that I can park this means I can take assignments where the weather is nice instead of always relying on RV park and campsite reservations so I'm hoping to be able to chase the good weather but even when the temperature is less than desirable the van is being completely customized to suit mine and ruse needs it'll have a heater a fan windows that open and a 12 volt air conditioner even though the 12 volt air conditioner can run off the battery it can only run for so long so if we are somewhere that's really hot I will accommodate by bringing her to a dog sitter during the day while I'm at work I promise you guys I am not going to let my dog overheat in my van I do have the little waggle pet monitor that I've mentioned in previous videos it alerts my phone if the temperature gets too hot or too cold so I can always keep an eye on that and I'll have a camera inside to keep an eye on her as well I did create a video on living in an Airstream with a dog a lot of the same things are going to apply to the van with some modifications so I'm sure there will be a new video on that eventually in some ways having ruined the van is actually gonna make my life a lot easier I'm not gonna have to run to the other side of town just to walk my dog in the middle of the day I will always have her with me we can always be out and about together when I'm running errands she can chill in the van in the parking lot and then when I'm ready to go for a hike she's right there with me and we can rock and roll it's really cool to meet other people who live in Vans but they're dogs and see how they make it work and I have no doubt that we'll be able to do it as well plus she's like a built-in security system go Roo are you guys tired of listening to me yet there's just a few downsides that I would like to mention before wrapping up a downside to boondocking is if I were to drive away for any reason and I come back someone could have totally snagged that spot in the meantime this is a very real possibility and yes it would be a total drag but honestly I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving my rig there anyways when I boondocked with the Airstream and I drove my tow vehicle away leaving the Airstream in the boondocking spot created so much anxiety for me I was very fearful that someone would come across it realize no one was home break in steal my belongings they could potentially even hitch up and steal the entire trailer and that's also a very real possibility and that's not just my camper that's my home with everything I own in it that would be much more of a drag than losing my boondocking spot another big downside to switching to a van is that I will be compromising size and storage a lot of you guys thought that my next rig would be bigger well surprise it's smaller well actually technically it is the same size but this time there's like an engine and a driver and passenger seat that takes away from the size quite a bit I actually don't mind living in such a small space especially for the multitasking purpose that I talked about earlier I mean who doesn't want to do their hair and make their coffee at the same time like come on this is just way too much work you know how many times I walk up and down the stairs a day I don't need all that okay maybe I do so what I feel so domesticated as far as having less storage I definitely have some downsizing to do but I was surprised when I moved out of the Airstream and put everything I owned in my Jeep Grand Cherokee everything fit with ease and I could easily see out of all of the windows and the mirrors so I don't think I have that much downsizing to do as far as feeling claustrophobic or cramped in the van I'm having it designed in a way that should feel a bit more open there's lots of ways you can play around with the floor plan and the height of the bed and it also helps that there's not another human in there Rue is even going to have another Dog Den underneath my bed just like the Airstream plus if we are feeling cramped in the van there is a big beautiful outdoor world right outside of our door there is one more con that I want to cover I think the biggest downside to having a rig that you can drive versus a trailer that you can tow is that it has an engine and engines can break meaning it would have to go to a shop and that's my home meaning my home would be in the shop this is a big reason why I decided to go with the Ford Transit versus the Mercedes Sprinter please don't create a war over this there are plenty more accessible Ford dealerships Across the Nation than Mercedes there's a lot of mechanics who can work on a Ford whereas Mercedes is a bit more specialized and they charge a lot more so you better hope that baby doesn't break down I hope my baby doesn't bring breakdown but I know that I can always find a Ford dealership if I need one the downside to the transit is it is all-wheel drive versus the Sprinter which has a 4x4 option I'm still super thankful for the all-wheel drive and there's a lot of comparisons that we can make when it comes to the transit versus the Sprinter but that is why I chose the transit over the Sprinter in a nutshell all right guys that was a lot I hope I answered the majority of your questions I know I didn't get around to a few that are based on the appliances but I will get into that in future videos I promise so stay tuned for that drop a comment if there's any additional questions you have for me I don't want you guys to think I am looking at this through rose-colored glasses by any means I promise to always keep it real with you guys by talking about the good and in the bad and I appreciate you guys keeping it real with me as well I'm so excited for all of the possibilities and the doors that this will open for me I'm excited to watch the van build come to life I'm actually flying out to Michigan next month to go see it myself so I will make sure to film a video of that as well please like this video If you enjoyed it don't forget to subscribe if you want to stay tuned for all of the van videos and I will see you guys next time foreign [Music]

Channel: Nomadic Sarah

Views: 58,611

Keywords: ford transit van, camper van, campervan, van life, van living, rv life, full time rv, full time van, solo female traveler, van build, van buildout, van conversion, drifter vans, sprinter, cargo van, high roof, extended, 3.5l ecoboost engine, awd, 4wd van, airstream, travel trailer, towing, hitching up, which rv, class b, pros and cons of van, living in a van, healthcare travel, traveling with a dog, 12v ac, ecoflow power kit, weboost, solar, off grid, boondocking, camping

Id: DCPqs2-XniY

Length: 20min 14sec (1214 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 29 2023